July 8, 2022 - (Leusden, The Netherlands) Entering the market today, Okawa is a new innovative e-mobility player with a disruptive business model, focused on sustainability and a compelling consumer experience. Offering a versatile model that includes subscriptions, Okawa’s key principles include long-lasting products, recycling and a strong service proposition to keep e-bike users on their bike and servicing simple for dealers and agents.
Okawa was founded in 2020 as a start-up in Jiangsu (Peoples Republic of China). Its largest shareholder is the Yadea Group, a major player in the field of e-mobility which has sold over 14 million e-two-wheelers last year (2021).
“We want to combine the best of both worlds right from the start,” emphasises Jack Brandsen, General Manager of the European Division of Okawa Motor Technology Co. Ltd. “With a large, established company behind us, we can offer an unconventional business model as an agile, innovative and technology-driven company that is unique in the e-mobility industry: unlike our established competitors, our focus is not on selling products with a limited-service life, without consistent service management and end-to-end recycling strategy. Instead, the customer ‘buys’, or better say subscribes from us exactly the e-mobility they need for their business or – at a later stage – private use.”
New innovative business service models
Instead of a limited warranty, the Okawa subscription services contract includes the reliability and guarantee of a functioning product over its entire life cycle. Additionally, the battery will be made available in future under the PaaS – Power as a Service – business model. This means that the customer doesn’t need to invest in a battery but subscribes and pays a monthly fee to match the user scenario, size/capacity and usage duration as required.
Full lifetime service model
This might well be the most important and unique element of Okawa’s new business offering. In the event of a breakdown or damage, two strict principles apply:
1) The e-bike customer must become mobile again as quickly as possible. Down time is one of the main cost factors for fleet operators, last mile or 10-minute delivery companies.
2) The service should be particularly easy for the service provider, be it in-house mechanics or via specialist dealers. The concept is called AESMTM – Advanced Exchange Service Model – and is supported by an innovative smartphone app that enables software updates and a system fault diagnosis “over the air” without additional hardware.
Lifetime guarantee
The cornerstone of a subscription model has the manufacturer remaining owner of its products, which leads to a continual incentive to ensure their best possible quality, maximum service life and minimum maintenance requirements. And, consequently, to strive for an economically sensible reuse of components or at least recycling of the raw materials after the end of their useful life. Thus, Okawa can ensure a lifetime guarantee over the life cycle of its drivetrain components.
Traditional sales model: ‘Subscribe or buy’
If the customer selects a more traditional sales method Okawa will offer a limited four-year warranty for all of its drivetrain components, except the battery. The warranty period starts only after the system has undergone an initialisation procedure. This makes it different from other brands which offer the warranty starting from a time at or shortly after OE shipment time, which is an important benefit to the client and usage period of the vehicle.
Drivetrain components ecosystem
Even the most innovative business model cannot do without hardware. Okawa’s current portfolio already includes the extremely powerful (90 Nm) A 40 mid-motor, which is suitable for various consumer or commercial applications.
And just in time for the EUROBIKE premiere in Frankfurt (July 13th – 17th, 2022), a real technology hit will be presented for the first time with the AT 60: the “T” stands for “Transmission” – meaning a 4-speed gearbox integrated into the mid- motor with a practical 240% gear ratio range, ample torque of 100 Nm and optional automatic shifting. The delivery of the first series versions – as a complete system consisting of motor, transmission, battery and optional display – is scheduled for early 2023 and is specifically tailored to fleet operators of cargo bikes or share bikes and any other who is interested in an ‘ease of power’ product.
“For manufacturers of such e-bikes, whether for last-mile delivery services or use as rental or sharing bikes, our “Full Lifetime Service” represents a unique and attractive offer,” says Okawa manager Jack Brandsen, who is convinced of a successful market launch, followed by more exciting products and services in the future.
Further information to be found on the new website here from July 13th, 2022
